page_title: 1st Middlesex Engineers
section_title: Palestine
hierarchical_section_title: 1st Middlesex Engineers / First World War / 60th (2/2nd London) Divisional RE / Palestine
caption_attribution_description: English: Column of Australian Light Horse crossing the Middle Pontoon Bridge, at Auja Ford, in the Jordan Valley. In the distance can be seen horsemen descending the steep winding track, leading to the bridge. This further bridgehead was entrenched and held continuously after the second Amman raid.
context_page_description: The 1st Middlesex Engineers was the senior engineer unit of Britain's Volunteer Force, raised in 1860 and originally recruited from the South Kensington Museum. It provided Royal Engineers units to the 47th Division, the 47th Infantry Division, the 56th Divisions, and the 60th Division during both World Wars. The engineers served on the First World War's Western Front from 1915 to 1918, and in a number of theatres during the Second World War. It also served in the postwar Territorial Army, until 1967.
context_section_description: The fighting died down in later May, and on 1 June 60th Division was given new orders: it was to re-embark on 12 June, bound for Egypt to reinforce the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). After arriving in Alexandria on 3 July the engineers had to reorganise for wheeled and camel transport, followed by desert training. Lieutenant-Colonel C.B. Thomson took over as CRE on 27 August. On 30 October the 60th Division concentrated for the Third Battle of Gaza and took part in the attack on Beersheba the following day. The division advanced with two brigades (179th and 181st), each accompanied by its field company, the third field company being held ready to move into Beersheba at short notice. The town fell to the Desert Mounted Corps, and 519th and 521st Fd Cos entered the town to get the water supply going: only two of 17 wells had been destroyed, though the remainder were prepared for demolition. The Sheria position, with its water supply, was taken on 6–7 November after a 15 miles (24 km) march across the desert and a pre-dawn attack, and Huj was taken on 8 November.
  After a rest, the division marched again in the operation to capture Jerusalem, advancing on 8 December with 179th Bde and a section of 521st Fd Co leading the attack on the right, 180th Bde with 519th Fd Co on the left, and 181st Bde and 522nd Fd Co in reserve. As 179th Bde's columns advanced, RE parties with pioneers were dropped off at intervals to improve the muddy track and direct the follow-up troops. Despite bad weather, the attacks were successful in driving back the Turks, and on 9 December the city's civilian leaders surrendered it to two sergeants of 2/19th Londons. The division then had to defend its gains against fierce Turkish counter-attacks (22–28 December) before resuming its advance to positions from which it could cover the city during the next pause in operations.
  Early in February the division began advancing on Jericho, advancing as three independent brigade groups with their usual RE companies attached (the RE detachment with 180th Bde in the centre was specially tasked with repairing culverts). After preliminary moves on 14 February, the brigades attacked on 18 February and by 21 February had fought their way over very bad ground to within 7 miles (11 km) of Jericho, and the town was captured next day by the ANZAC Mounted Division.
  60th Division was now tasked with crossing the River Jordan in order to raid the enemy's communications around Amman: it was to cross at Ghoraniyeh, one of two bridging sites that had been identified. 521st Field Co extemporised rafts of timber, wire netting and tarpaulin to get infantry across and then form the basis for an infantry assault bridge. However, the floodwater prevented them being launched on the nights of 21/22 or 22/23 March. The first infantry only got across on 23 March after the Anzacs had already crossed, 521st's assault bridge then being quickly followed by a barrel pier constructed by 519th Fd Co and by a pontoon bridge by the army's bridging train. 522nd Field Co then began to build a heavy timber trestle bridge on 25 March, but the rising floodwater caused this to be abandoned on 29 March. Instead 522 Fd Co built a suspension bridge between 1 and 18 April after cables had been brought from Egypt. A second raid lasting from 30 April to 4 May was launched from this bridgehead.
  The EEF now had to provide urgent reinforcements to counter the German Spring Offensive on the Western Front. 60th Division was 'Indianised' and about three-quarters of its London infantry battalions went to France, to be replaced with Indian Army units. In the Divisional RE, 522nd Fd Co went to 7th (Meerut) Division on 18 July 1918, and No 1 Company, King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners joined in exchange.
caption: Units returning from the second Transjordan raid crossing the pontoon bridge at El Auja.
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